Bouches-du-Rhône

Recorded Natural Hazards (Géorisques)

It has 119 municipalities and 2,087,658 inhabitants. Under the seismic zoning in force since 2011, 32 municipalities are in a medium or high seismicity zone (17% of inhabitants). A natural disaster has been declared 1,524 times since 1982 (one declaration per municipality and decree), mostly for floods (852) and drought (501). The most recent was signed on 18 January 2026. 94 municipalities are covered by an approved natural hazard prevention plan.

Seismicity Zones

Number of municipalities in each zone of the regulatory seismic zoning (from 1, very low, to 5, high).

Natural Disasters Declared Since 1982

Declarations per five-year period.

Most Widespread Events

• 1982Storms · 6 November 1982119 municipalities
• 1982Floods and Mudflows · 6 November 1982119 municipalities
• 2003Floods and Mudflows · 1 December 200366 municipalities
• 2022Drought (Clay Shrinkage) · 1 April 202262 municipalities
• 2023Drought (Clay Shrinkage) · 1 April 202336 municipalities
• 2008Floods and Mudflows · 14 December 200834 municipalities

Most Frequently Affected Municipalities

• 39Marseille
• 29Mimet
• 28Aubagne
• 27Les Pennes-Mirabeau
• 26Aix-en-Provence
• 26Martigues
• 25Auriol
• 24Arles

Hazards Listed by Municipality

Number of municipalities exposed to each natural hazard according to the departmental major risks file.

Hazards at a specific address on Géorisques

Hazard Levels

Hazard level assessed by ThinkHazard! (World Bank, GFDRR), meaning the likelihood of a damaging event, from very low to high.

• River FloodHigh
• Coastal FloodHigh
• WildfireHigh
• Urban FloodMedium
• Water ScarcityMedium
• Extreme HeatMedium
• EarthquakeLow
• LandslideLow
• TsunamiLow

Details and recommendations on ThinkHazard!